WASHINGTON – The Air Line Pilots Association,
Int’l (ALPA) brought the views of nearly 53,000 airline pilots to the FAA’s
Partnership for Safety Symposium, held this week in Washington, D.C., and made
clear the importance of ensuring that every professional involved in the
operation of a flight adheres to the highest possible communications standards.

“Airline pilots learn the importance of adhering
to standard procedures and phraseology in their communications and the value of
training and discipline early in their basic flight training,” said Capt. John
Prater, ALPA’s president, at the conclusion of the FAA symposium. For
professional airline pilots, that knowledge is expanded and reinforced as new
first officers also receive mentoring from captains. “These principles remain
essential to safety no matter how experienced an aviator becomes,” Prater noted.

ALPA maintains that throughout the national and
international airspace system, the fundamentals of undergoing thorough training,
adhering to standard operating procedures, employing standard phraseology, and
capitalizing on techniques for good radio discipline that have been developed
over decades are vitally important. From using clearly defined call signs to
accurately understanding clearances and ensuring that all parties have a common
understanding of radio transmissions, the major topics that were discussed at
the symposium hinge on these fundamentals.

While air transportation remains extremely safe,
ALPA urges the aviation industry to continue efforts to ensure that
pilot—controller and other flight operation communications are as relevant and
accurate as possible. ALPA pilot safety representatives participated in the FAA
symposium to discuss pilots’ concerns and best practices in communications
issues such as hear-back/read-back between pilots and controllers, standard
phraseology, similar-sounding call signs, and sharing of critical information.

“Safety is enhanced when pilots receive as much
critical information as possible regarding runway assignments, weather,
turbulence, and other operational issues,” said Capt. Rory Kay, ALPA’s Executive
Air Safety Chairman. “Providing pertinent information to the flight crew
proactively and in advance of critical phases of flight avoids distractions once
the flight is under way and enhances safety for passengers and crew.”

ALPA representatives underscored the need to
ensure that the large amount of information that pilots receive in the cockpit,
including NOTAMS, is prioritized and as tailored as possible to the safe
operation of the specific flight.

“Pilots receive a huge amount of information when
planning a flight—some of which is critical to its safe operation, while some
information may not be especially relevant to the individual flight,” Kay
continued. “Pilots need the information we receive to be prioritized so that we
can quickly determine what is of greatest importance to the safety of our
flight.”

Additionally, all of the working groups
highlighted that communications can be significantly enhanced when pilots and
controllers clearly understand each other’s roles and responsibilities. ALPA
representatives were encouraged by the universal stakeholder agreement that
allowing a controller to observe flight crew training in a flight simulator or
to sit on the flight deck during a familiarization flight ultimately increases
flight safety. Such exposure to the operational environment and the opportunity
to see how air traffic control instructions come across in the cockpit provides
invaluable insight that cannot be obtained any other way.

“ALPA supports the FAA’s efforts to swiftly
reinstate the air traffic controller familiarization flight program as one tool
to do even more to enhance flight communications,” said Kay. “We commend the FAA
for holding the symposium, and we look forward to continuing to work with the
aviation industry to ensure all flight communications provide the highest level
of safety possible for our passengers, crews, and cargo.”

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s largest
pilots union, representing nearly 53,000 pilots at 38 airlines in the United
States and Canada.